This bar by far is the best "simple" dining experience in Peninsula Town Ctr. The food is great, the drinks are scrumptious, the staff are very attentive and accommodating and the prices are reasonable. There is not a dish that I've ordered from Bar Louie's that wasn't to brag about. I highly recommend this establishment for great food and fun!!
Review Source:It's about as much of a bar as Virginia will allow. They have happy hour from 5-7, Mon-Fri which means beer is $3 (in a slightly smaller glass), wine is $4 a glass, and martinis are $5. Select appetizers are also half off (the boneless wings and quesadillas are good). Other than happy hour I probably wouldn't come here. The service can be slow and the vibe isn't great. They do put top shelf liquor in their martinis, so if you're into that it's a good value...plus not too many places around here have a hh on Friday.
Review Source:Best food service I ever received at a Bar! (Angelina is a phenomenal server) The manager came to the table personally on several occasions, and the food? Delectable. I have the California Chicken Sandwich with a side of broccoli, and the portions were so generous I had to take half home. That did not however prevent me from having the Whiskey Cake (which tastes like THE best stack of pancakes you've ever had in your life). My friend had two mojitos which were made to perfection (not over muddled with too much mint), and had the Voodoo Chicken and the sauce was amazing. Highly recommend this for a fun night on the town. The Cinebistro along with the bowling alley is right next door. Will definately be eating here more often.
Review Source:Had a date night with my husband here tonight, and have to say I was disappointed. Our waitress was very nice, but it was clear that the kitchen and the bar did not have their act together. We ordered the calamari from the Happy Hour menu and 10 mins later our waitress returned to tell us they were out of calamari. We ordered the meatballs and the spinach & artichoke dip. Both were just ok. I was happy I got there early enough to order my 3 glasses of wine during Happy Hour for half price, because the glasses were only1/2 full. Â Service was slow for food and drinks, luckily we were not in a hurry. Our waitress comped us the first round of our drinks without us even asking, which was nice. Not sure if we will go back. The first time we went was awesome, but that was just after it opened.
Review Source:I have a fond memory of Bar Louie...the one in Richmond that is. It was 2008 and there was hotness all over the place. So when i think of Bar Louie I think of ultimate hotness everywhere. So when hearing about BL coming to Hampton I was reminded of my trip in Richmond years ago. Will Hampton have what Richmond has? I can't answer that just yet. I've been to BL in Hampton twice, both during the lunch hour. It's really quiet during the day... My guess is that this place is a wayyyyy cooler spot in the evenings.
I cannot remember what I ate the first time I was there a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, my first trip wasn't very memorable. Today I I ordered the Bar Louie burger with bacon and a fried egg on top. Â I asked for medium rare and got medium rare. Often, places screw this up. Instead of fries I ordered steamed brocoli. The portion itself was perfect. I skipped out on my typical food coma and was hungry six hours later. Overall, good job.
Soon I will return for an evening to see what the environment is like. I know the place gets packed and I look forward to hanging out for a few drinks and dinner.
Like many bar/restaurants, your experience at Bar Louie really depends on when you visit.
The location is great. The seating and atmosphere are fantastic -- lots of tall tables and large half-circle booths, a section with lounge seating around low tables, low lighting, a large central bar. And from my one experience ordering food (chicken nachos), the food is served fresh after being cooked and absolutely delicious!
That visit (when I ordered nachos) was delightful, and my friend and I lingered for about two hours, chatting and not feeling rushed by our waitress ... but it was also 4 in the afternoon and business was slow. On another evening, I came at about 9:30 on a Saturday to watch a friend's local band play a set, and it was slammed. A waitress didn't visit our table until about 30 minutes after our arrival and by then my group had visited the bar for drinks. But the drinks were good (reasonably potent and moderately priced) and the vibe (for a late night out) was great!
I definitely enjoyed Bar Louie!
do NOT do the restaurant week "deal"here. they make it seem like it's a two for twenty deal, really you get 20 a piece meal.. they don't know how to explain after you try and clarify if is twenty a piece or two for twenty.. and food is never with it.. I don't that I've ever had an attentive server or one that smiles..chicken looks like no bigger than the nail bed of you're thumb.. flat breads are dry and terrible.. their chicken breast dish was just a blaned with not fully cooked rice, and salads are drenched in dressing..i didn't realize you could mess up a salad? for the price, not worth the food.. drinks were good, until 7 when happy hour ends however cocktails are never worth the price or on special
Review Source:[Nothing like writing this twice...] The XYL and I attended a Yelp UYE lunch here with Fearless Leader today, for the Coliseum Central Restaurant Week event, and we had a wonderful time.
Arrived early. Bar Louie is well lit, and laid out with plenty of floor space. It was kinda/sorta empty when we got here, but I am told it gets to be elbow to elbow, when it gets busy.
With it being restaurant Week, we were offered a decent selection of lunch specials. I ordered the California Chicken Club (sans bacon). It was served on 2 thick slices of multi-grain bread, with the edges covered with a wide assortment of grains. The bread was toasted, like a grill cheese bread, yet it was not oily. Served with grilled chicken breast, lettuce and tomato, a hint of mayo, avocado slices (and bacon).
The salad was very good. Although the mixture items (tomato, cucumbers) were finely diced, which made getting them to stay on your fork problematic.
The sammich was excellent. A nice mixture of tastes on some very good bread. The seasoned fries were cooked crisp, and were hot when served.
Our server was attentive, and kept our glasses filled and our needs taken care of.
The dining area was clean, and orderly.
Bar Louie offers a Military discount. It does not offer a Senior Discount. There is a large sign at the entrance stating that Firearms are not allowed there.
I was apprehensive. Maybe I read too much into the 'bar' part of Bar Louie, and my expectations of the food were not that high. I was genuinely surprised. Our meals were excellent. Our service attentive.
With Bar Louie being in the Peninsula Town Center complex, you have to pay the extra PTC tax rate there. It is, however, located along the large open, free parking area that fronts Target, so you will not have to pay the parking meters.
We had an excellent meal today. Very enjoyable.
Recommended.
@Removeyourhat
I met up with some friends at Bar Louie on Valentines Day. Â This was my first time here.
I was really impressed by the decor. Â That have a huge wrap around bar and more than enough tables -both bar height and regular - for a good size crowd.
I want to point out that the Valentines Day special they advertised was a bit misleading, the way the flier read it made me (and a few others) believe that you could get a "Heartbreaker" martini AND a "It's not me it's you" shot for $5. Â Unfortunately, it was only one or the other - not both.
They have Happy Hour specials that includes their menu of martinis and half off appetizers.
My  complaint was the service - although I feel in my heart (it was Valentines Day - get it?) that he meant well, our server wasn't on point.  He completely forgot to bring out a salad that was ordered.  I ordered an Italian beef flat bread.  It was a bit greasy but very tasty.  It's big enough to share too.  For Happy hour it was 1/2 off -  a greasy, sharable flat bread for 6 dollars is not bad at all.
I like the place, the atmosphere is welcoming and relaxing.
Bar Louie leaves much to be desired. I've gone here 3 times, first visit the most enjoyable. Drinks are a bit pricey and just ok, food was eh, nothing to write home about and the service is poor. Inattentive waitstaff have cut my second and third trips here short. My husband and I waited about 20-30 minutes to place our drink orders another 20 to get them, so we've been there nearly an hour and our server is nowhere to be found. We would have stayed longer and ordered food but the service was just too poor. Thinking maybe this was an off day we returned for lunch during the week. We were the only people in the restaurant and about 4 servers milling about. We seatee ourselves as per the sign. First table we chose was filthy so we moved to another table all the while servers are walking by however we've yet to be greeted let alone served. After about 10 minutes I conclude that Bar Louie didn't want my money so we left. Bottom line ok drinks, ok food and really poor service. Three strikes and you're out. I won't be returning
Review Source:To those complaining about coming in and waiting and never being greeted or sat.. IT'S SEAT YOURSELF. which I prefer because when it's slow like when we got there you can sit where you're comfortable instead of where hostess decides to put you. We were greeted by our waitress quickly. She was very helpful in helping us pick our martinis which were a great deal during happy hour. The bar was out of what they needed for some drinks, but it's not a huge deal unless you're just dying for whatever it is they were out of, which we weren't. We split thr chips trio and bruschetta and I got a burger with Mac and cheese instead of fries. I thought everything was great. I ordered the burger WD and it came WD. My friend and I both really liked the atmosphere. I'll be returning for sure.
Review Source:Went here for a late lunch (around 2pm on a Saturday) and I guess I should've heeded the other reviews about service. Besides our table (for 2), our waitress only had 2 other tables, each with only 2 people, and she still could not get her stuff together.
At least on this occassion, it is a "seat yourself" kind of place, though the sign stating that is left outside and we didn't even see it until we left.
We waited probably 5-7 minutes for the waitress to even acknowledge us and take our drink order (2 waters, 2 mixed drinks). She left to put that in and returned about 5 minutes later to take our order.... but with no drinks in hand. :/ Seriously? Not even the waters?
We both ordered cheeseburgers, mine medium, his medium well, with fries. Pretty simple. Drinks finally came out and they were alright, though as I came to discover once the bill came, quite pricey. $9 for my martini and $7.50 for the rum and coke which seems exhorbant, especially for 2 in the afternoon. We weren't at a nightclub, or a fancy restaurant, so I don't expect to pay those kind of prices. Menu, by the way, was pretty limited. Mostly just bar fare and nothing on there really caught my fancy (ie, why we both got burgers).
Luckily for them I was starving because otherwise I wouldn't have even eaten the burger that came out. It was so well overdone I could barely eat it. My husband's was the same, but since he has always eaten his well-done, it really didn't bother him as much. We asked for mustard which took (not joking) nearly 10 minutes to bring out. My husband was pretty much done eating by that point. She didn't bother to refill our waters, but she DID offer to get us another round. Go figure.
Another wait for the check, and wonders why I was sitting there with my credit card already out and ready to go.
Would not eat there again, tho we may check out the nightlife and see how that is.
Bar Louie is Gorgeous! The atmosphere is trendy and fun. Besides the fact it was 100 degrees in there, I loved it!
They have $5 drink specials before 7pm. And they are delicious! My friend told me the po'boy was to die for. Sold! Coming back as soon as I visit VA again.
Great Shots- Baby Guinness (coffee shot)
            Fireball - (like the candy)
It's a great night! Â My party ventured to this restaurant last Friday. Â Overall I enjoyed the atmosphere and the awesome martini's. Â The honeydew and Grand Lemon Drop martini's yum yum. Â Happy hour is from 4-7. Â Some appetizers are half off, while martini's are $5 and drafts are at a discounted price as well. Â However...My first drink was superb, but # 2 and #3 were half full and I was very disappointed. Â When I told the waitress about it she said there was nothing she could do and the bartender would just add carbonated water...huh??? Â I also order the salmon with a side of broccoli. Â I recvd the salmon first and did not receive the broccoli until I had one fork full of salmon left. Â Of course that was unacceptable. Â I asked to speak with a manger... AJ MJ something J...she listened to my concerns and apologized. Â It was only right to voice my concerns because this was my first visit. Â The manager made sure I recvd a Grand Lemon Drop martini to perfection...and it was! Â
I would only recommend this place for the drinks only. Â I suggest you eat elsewhere before or after. Â But definitely get there for happy hour...love love love the drinks!
I've been meaning to review this place! I usually don't review after only going somewhere once, but so many decent places are closing lately in Hampton that I feel the need to share the love more often.
I went with a group of about six ladies for an farewell dinner. First lemme say that  the interior is nice,  pretty surprising for Hampton! It's like a hip little martini bar, lots of tall tables with leather chairs and modern fixtures.
Happy Hour here is great. If you don't like watered down drinks served in plastic cups, but still want to get a good deal on Happy Hour, this is your place. I think it was $3 drafts and $4 house wines. They had a really good zin on the menu, and at $4, I wasn't going to pass that up!
Onto ze food, happy hour also had 50% apps, so we got a few for the table; traditional calamari, meatballs and spinach dip. The only thing I can really say is that they gave you a lot of food for the price and the meatballs were pretty good. Everything else was meh. For dinner I had the crispy chicken melt buffalo style and it was really good! I love a buffalo chicken sandwich and this one stood up to some of my favs.
Overall, I'd recommend this place. Mostly because I would like it to be there in 5 months when I decide to patronize it again.
Great place to hang out; the staff is very friendly and hip. I enjoy my dining experience here. The only complaint I have is that on slower nights, they tend to raise the TV volume creating a theatre-like atmosphere; therefore making it hard if you are on a date or a ladies night out. It does get so loud at times, it is not a place for any intimate type scenarios. This place gives me the feel of a real bar; loud, fun, great food. Price is reasonable for its location (a bit steep but doable), but this isnt a concern when you get your plate of food; their portion sizes are out of this world! HUGE!
I bought fish and chip. Thinking I was going to get a small dish, I ended up sharing my plate with 2 other people at the table. :) Portion = BIG!
During weekend hours, the place gets really packed to the point where you cant move around or not enough seating. They do have a patio/outside sitting but with winter on its way, that isnt a suiteable place to hang.
Waitstaff is great but slow during busy nights; once, I had to wait over 30 minutes before I got my check and another 40 mins waiting for the waiter to come back with my card; the good news is...I was mingling with friends that I lost track of time but I was a bit bummed when it took so long because I had to be somewhere at a certain time and missed that.
OVerall, I am a fan of this place; great for outings, groups, ladies night out, coworkers gathering etc. It's the new kid on the block...everyone wants to go there.